Automatic weighing mechanism.



N0. 860,392. PATENTED JULY 16, 1907. G. A. LEE.

AUTOMATIC WEI-GHING MEGHANISM.

ARPLIOATION FILED MAY 1. 190s.

4 VSHEETS-SIMM 1.

No. 860,392. PATENTED JULY 16, 1907.

G. A. LEE.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MEGHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED nu 1. 190e.

4 sHEETs-sHEnT z.

No. 860,392. PATENTED JULY 16, 1907. G. A. LEE.

AUTOMATIC WBIGHING MECHAN-ISM.

AIPLIOATION FILED HAY 1. 1906.

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'PATENTED JULY16, 1907.

G. A. LEE'.

AUTOMATIC WEIG-HING MEGHANISM.

APPLIOATION FILED HAY 1l 1906.

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UNITED STAWAEENT OFFIOE.

-GEORGE AUBREY LEE, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO AUTOMATIC PACKINGv d:

LABELING COMPANY, OF DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA, A CORPORATION OF NORTH CAR- OLINA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

".Patented July 16, 1907.

Application filed May 1, 1906. Serial No. 31114715.

. .i To all whom @t may concern: l

Be it known that I,-Gnonon AUBREY Lan, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Yonkers, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Weighing Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention pertains to improvements in automatic weighing mechanism, the apparatus being particularly adapted for use in conjunction with packaging machines.

The invention will best be understood upon reference to the annexed drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a vertical sectional view of the weighing mechanism and a portion of the packaging mechanism; Fig. 2 a vertical sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the weighing mechanism; Fig. 3 a top plan view thereof; Fig. 4 a side elevation of a portion of the weighing mechanism, the parts being broken away to more clearly illustrate the construction; Fig. 5 a vertical sectional view, taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4; Fig. G a horizontal sectional view, on the line G-G of Fig. 2, illustrating the gate which is employed to temporarily close the feed hoppers or chambers; Fig. 7 a perspective view of a portion of the operative mechanism, the main feed roll and'the dribble roll being shown in section; Fig. 8 a vertical sectional view, on the line 8 8 of Fig. 3, showing the pawl-carrier, pawl and coacting ratchet and the releasing device therefor, which control the movements of the main or large feed roll; Fig. 9 a sectional view taken on the line 2)#9 of Fig. S; Fig. l0 a perspective view of the actuating lever employed to release the pawls from the ratchets, Fig. ll a sectional perspective view of the frame'or casting in which the feed chambers are formed, and which also serves as a support for the scale-pans and the attendant parts; and Fig. l2 a vertical sectional view taken through one of the feed hoppers or chambers, the line of section being indicated by the line 12-12 in Fig. 3.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and eflicient mechanism which will automatically deliver to a bag or other container a definite quantity of material to be packaged.

The apparatus may be said to consist of a series of vscales or scale-pans into which a stated amount Aof material is fed, the pans being automatically discharged in rotation. The material passes from the pans into a receptacle common to all the pans, whence it is delivered to a bag or other closure.

The mechanism also includes a main feed roll, a constantly-driven dribble roll, mechanism whereby rotation of the main roll Will be stopped when approximately the desired weight of material is fed into a scale-pan, and means whereby further discharge of the material from the feed hopper or chamber by the dribble roll will be cut off when the exact amount has passed into the scale.

In the drawings, A denotes a stand or column, preferably supported upon the bed of the packaging machine, said stand or column carrying a hopper or receptacle B which, as above noted, is coextensive with the various scales or scale-pans which stand above the same. A sleeve or collar C is secured to the upper portion of the column A and a shaft D is mounted within the column and passes through and has its bearing in the hub E of the casting in which the feed chambers or hoppers are formed, and which will be hereinafter described in detail. Said hub is fast to the collar C and is, therefore, held against rotation.

To the upper end of shaft D is secured the hu'o F of a wheel-like actuating member, the lower edge or rim G of which is provided with gear-teeth forming in effect a toothed wheel H. Said rim is also provided with two cams I and J, the former serving to release the pawls which have brought the main feed roll to standstill and closed the gate or door beneath the feed hopper when the requisite amount of material has passed therethrough to the scale-pan below. The second cam is designed to eoact with a rod which opens the scale-pans and discharges the contents thereof into the hopper or receptacle B.

Spaced about the hub E and defined by the vertical walls K, the inclined bottom wall L, the walls M, N, and the vertically-disposed annular or ringshaped outer wall O, is a series of hopper-s or feed Chamb ers in which the feed rolls are mounted. The formation of the chambers will be best understood upon reference to Figs. ll and l2, wherein it will be noted that the lower edges of the walls K are curved inwardly and connect with the vertically-disposed walls M and N. The curvature of the lower portions of the walls K is the same as that of the feed rolls which work adjacent thereto.

A shaft P is mounted in each of the feed chambers, the shaft at its inner end being seated in a bearing formed in the hub E. Said shaft carries a collar or sleeve Q loosely mounted thereon, the collar extending through an opening R formed in the vertical wall O. Upon said shaft is mounted a pair of frusto-conical feed rolls S and T. Roll S is the dribble roll and is made comparatively small, being securedl to the inner end of the shaft by a set-screw, or in any other suitable manner. The outer end of the roll is reduced and passes into a socket or recess formed in the adjacent end of the roll T, which is loosely mounted upon the shaft P. A friction washer' U is interposed between the adjacent laces oi said rolls. rhe outer end of the roll T is provided with a head or closure V which is splined or otherwise rigidly allixed to the sleeve Q. Said sleeve, as will be best seen upon reference to Figs. S and 9, is provided with a ratchetwheel W, with which coacts a locking pawl X, iulcrumed upon the lower end of a pawl-carrier Y, loosely mounted upon and encircling the sleeve Q.

A gear Z is secured to shalt P adjacent to the ratchetwheel W, said gear meshing with the gear II of the actuating member, and as said actuating member is constantly rotated the shalt P will-.likewise have a constant motion imparted to it.

A second ratchet-wheel a is secured upon shalt P, and a pawl b mounted upon the short arm c oi an elbow-lever d, iulcrumed upon the shalt P, is adapted to coact with said ratchet-wheel and to lock the elbowlever to the shaft and cause it to partake of the rotation oi said shalt for a stated period. The lower or long end e oi said lever projects into a slot or opening f in a swinging gate g, pivoted to the under face of the upper ring-shaped or annular member h oi' the hopper casing.

The outer end oi' the shalt P is journaled in a bearing t' tormedupon the upper edge of the ring-shaped member h. Said member L is secured to the member O by interposed webs Extending downwardly l'rom the ring-shaped member h is a series ol arms k, the laterally projecting ends ol the arms being provided with bearings Z which lorm the supports lor the knife-edge bearings m ol" the U-shaped scale-beam n. One ol said beams is shown in detail in Fig. 7 and is provided at its outer end with a threaded rod o upon which is adj ustably mounted a weight p. The yoke or beam has pivotally connected to it a scale-pan q, provided with pivoted bottom. plates r, s, normally held closed by springs t and n. The bottom plates are connected to each other by arms o and w, one arm carrying a pin which works in a slot lormed in the opposite arm.

A rod ft, mounted in vertically-disposed bearings formed in the web j bears upon a lever y l'ulcrumed between ears z, formed at the lower end of the arm le. The inner end ol said lever projects over the pin carried by the arm w, see Fig. 5. Normally the rod is maintained in its elevated position by a spring A but is depressed by the cam J, which acts upon a roller B" carried by the upper end ol rod a'. This cam comes into action and depresses the rod after the proper amount ol' material has been fed into the scale-pan.

A rod C, see Fig. 7, is pivotally connected at its lower end to the scale-beam or a stud extending outwardly therefrom, the upper end or' said rod being pivotally connected to the outer end ot the pawl b. A second rod D is connected to the outer end of the pawl X, the lower end oi the rod being orked and normally resting upon a pin or stud E extending outward from the beam. It is to be noted that the rod .D stands at a greater distance from the knife-edge bearing or Vlulcrum m of the beam than does the connection of the rod C to the beam. The weight of the rod D is depended upon to draw the pawl. X down when the beam is tilted so that said pawl may be thrown into operative relation with the wheel W and thereby arrest the rotation ol the sleeve Q, and conse-- quently stop the rotation ol the large leed wheel 'l. 'lhe pawl b will not, however, come into action at this time, so that the dribble roll S may continue to leed material slowly into the scale-pan. Upon a l'urther downward movement ol' the pan, by the addition ol material led thereto by the dribble roll S, the pawl I will come into action, locking the elbow-lever d tothe shalt P and thereby causing said lever' to Swing in the direction ol' the arrow shown in Fig. 7, and as a consequence move the gate g beneath the lower end el the i'eed hopper or chamber, thereby cutting oill the lurther discharge of material l'rom said leed chamber to the scale-pan. rlhe parts are so timed that the gate cuts oit' this supply at the exact moment required, so that each charge ol material which passes into the scale-pan and thence to the main discharge hopper l will be of equal weight.

As will be readily appreciated, as soon as the cam .l passes into contact with the roller l on the rod fr, said rod will be depressed and the plates or doors r, s, opened against the action ol the springs, and the weighed material discharged from the scale-pan.

In order to positively withdraw the pawls and to i'orce the pawl-carrier Y and the elbow-lever d back to their normal positions, I employ an actuating device o1` the form best shown in Fig. lO. It comprises an arm or lever F secured to a shalt G l'ulcrulned upon an ear or bearing II extending outwardly l'rom the web Formed as an integral portion ol lever F is a finger I provided with a shoulder J", the reduced end ol' a finger K serving to release the pawl l) when said finger is thrown downwardly by the action ol the cam I upon a roll L secured to the upper end ol' the arm F. The shoulder J contacts with the arm c ol' the elbow-lever d, and consequently throws the same to the right, or in a direction opposite to th e arrow in Fig. 7 thereby opening the gate which was momentarily closed beneath the hopper or leed chamber. A second finger, M provided with a shoulder N and a reduced end O, is secured upon the opposite end ol' the shalt G, said shoulder N and reduced portion O coacting, respectively, with the pawl-earrier Y and pawl X. A spring P (Fig. fl) is secured to the arm F and to a lixed portion ol the machine, said spring serving to draw the arm rearwardly and to thereby raise the pawl-releasing fingers. 'lhe cani I is designed to come into action immediately the material has been discharged from the scale-pan and to again open the gate g, so that the material may be again passed into the scale-pan. To assist in the retraction ol' the gate a spring Q is secured to the arm e of the elbow-lever and to the annular or ring-shaped member I'.

The various parts are duplicated in each ot' the leed hoppers or chambers, there being eight of such hoppers in the construction herein shown.

It will be understood, ol' course, that but a single pair of operating cams I and .I is carried by the actuating member G, and that they act successively to close the various doors and discharge the scale-pans through.- out the series.

The material from one of the pans will pass out ol' the main hopper or receptacle B before the next pan is discharged, the parts being so timed that but one weighed charge can pass into the hopper at a time,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. In combination with a hopper or chamber; stantly-driven dribble roll; a larger feed roll; yielding driving connections between said dribble roll and the larger feed roll; a scale-pan located beneath the hopper; and connections between said hopper and the larger feed roll for arresting the rotation of said roll when the scalepan has received its proximate charge.

2. In combination with a hopper or chamber; a constantly-driven dribble roll mounted therein; a larger feed roll also mounted in said chamber; frictional driving connections between said rolls; a scale-pan located beneath said hopper; a gate for closing the lower end of the hopper; and connections intermediate said scale-pan and friction-driven roll, and between the pan and the gate,` whereby when the pan has received its proximate charge il COD- the larger feed roll will be brought to a standstill and upon further and full descent of the pan the gate will be closed.

:5. In combination with a hopper or chamber; a shaft mounted therein; a dribble roll secured to the shaft; a second roll loosely mounted upon the shaft; frictional driving connections intermediate said rolls; a scale-pan located beneath the hopper; a pivoted gate arranged to close the lower end of the hopper; connections intermediate the scale-pan and the friction-driven roll for arresting the rotation of said roll when the pan has received its proximate charge; and connections intermediate said gate and the pan for swinging said gate to its closed position when the pan has received its full charge.

4. In combination with a hopper or chamber; a shaft mounted therein; a dribble roll secured to the shaft and rotating therewith; a second roll loosely mounted upon the shaft; frictional drivingl connections between said rolls a gate mounted beneath the hopper, said gate standing normally in an open position; a scale-pan; a locking device for preventing the rotation of the second roll; said device being normally held out of operation when the scalepan is elevated; an actuating device for closing and openii g the gate, said device being controlled by the descent of the pan; means for discharging the material from the pan; Iand means for releasing the locking device and the gate-actuating device, said means coming after the pan has been discharged.

5. In combination with a feed hopper or chamber; a shaft mounted therein a dribble roll secured to and rotatable with the shaft; a larger' feed roll loosely mounted on the shaft; frictional driving connections between said rolls; a ratchet secured to and rotatable with said larger i'eed roll; a pawl-carrier; a pawl pivoted upon said cai-- rier and coperating with the ratchet; a second ratchet secured upon the shaft; an elbow-lever loosely fulcrumed upon the shaft; a pawl fnlcrumed upon said elbow-lever and normally standing in line with the ratchet secured upon the shaft a gate pivotally mounted beneath the hopper; a scale-beam also fulcrumed beneath the hopper; means interposed between said beam and the first-mentioned pawl for normally holding the same out of action so long as the beam remains in its elevated position; connections between said beam and the second pawl for throwing the pawl into engagement -with its ratchet when the beam approaches the limit of its downward movement; and means for releasing said pawls and returning the parts to their normal positions when the contents of the pan carried by the beam has been discharged.

(i. ln combination with a feed hopper or chamber; a shaft mounted therein; a dribble roll secured to the shaft and rotatable therewith a feed roll loosely mountedupon the shaft; frictional driving connections between said into operation rolls; a sleeve secured to the feed roll and encircling the shaft; a ratchet carried by the sleeve; a pawl-carrier swiveled upon said sleeve; a pawl pivotally mounted upon said pawl-carrier and in line with its ratchet; a second ratchet secured to the shaft; an elbow lever loosely mounted upon the shaft; a pawl fulcrumed upon the short arm of said lever; a gate pivoted beneath the hopper, said gate being provided with a slot into which the long arm of the elbow-lever extends; a scale-beam fulcrumed at a point below the hopper; a rod pivoted to the first pawl and normally held in an elevated position by the scalebeam so long as the beam remains in its elevated position a rod pivotally secured to the beam at one end and at its opposite end to the second pawl; means for discharging material from the pan carried by the beam and means for releasing the pawls and throwing the pawl-carrier and the elbow-lever, back to theirnornial positions.

T. In a weighing mechanism; the combination of a frame or casting provided with a series of feed hoppers or chambers; a scale-pan mounted beneath each of said hoppers; feed rolls mounted in each of said hoppers; an actuating device common to all of said feed rolls; a gate pivoted beneath each of said hoppers; connections between said scale-pans and gates, whereby the gates will be closed when the pans near their limit of downward movement; connections controlled by the descent of the pans for arresting the operation of the feed rolls; devices for discharging the pans; devices for opening the gates and restoring the rolls to their operative positions; and means carried by the actuating member for operating the discharge devices and releasing the devices for closing thc gates and arresting the feed rolls.

S. In a weighing machine; the combination of a frame or casting provided with a plurality of feed hoppers or chambers; a shaft mounted in each of said hopper-s; a gear carried by each of said shafts; an actuating member mounted above said gears and meshing therewith; a fixed feed roll mounted upon each shaft; a frictionally-driven feed roll also mounted on each of said shafts; a scale-pan located beneath each of said hoppcrs; a gate for each hopper; a rod serving to open each of said pans; connections intermediate the pans and frictionally-driven feed rolls for arresting the motion of said rolls; connections intermediate said pans and the gat'es for opening and closing the same; positioning devices for the connections aforesaid: and cams carried by the actuating member, one of said cams serving to operate the rods while the second cam operates the positioning devices.

f). In combination with a receptacle', a series of hoppers located above the same; a scale-pan situated beneath eachhopper; a feeding mechanism located in each hopper; and means common to all the feeding mechanisms and the scale-pans for actuating the feeding mechanisms and successively discharging the scale-pans into the receptacle.

10. In combination with a central supporting member; a frame or casting sustained thereby, said frame being provided with a series of radialiy-disposed, outwardly-ilaring hoppers; a conical feeding roll located in each hopper; a scale-pan situated beneath each hopper; and means common to all the feeding rolls and the scale-pans for actuating the feeding rolls and successively discharging the scale-pans.

In testimony whereof I have signed my nameto this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE AUDREY LEE.

Witnesses .Timms S. FITCH, I'Ionaeu A. Denen.

ilo 

